A major hazard of horseriding, motorcycling and the like is caused by the fact that it is relatively easy for a rider to fall from a horse or a motorbike. In fact, in practice, particularly in horseriding, riders, jockeys and the like are prone to a considerably large number of falls, both when riding in races, equestrian events or, indeed in practicing or training. In many cases, these falls can lead to serious injury, for example, they can lead to serious spine injuries, rib injuries, shoulder injuries, indeed, such falls can lead to injuries to any part of the body. It has been found in practice that the most serious injuries are to the torso, and particularly to the spine. These type of accidents are not restricted to horseriding and motorcycling, they can occur in many sports, such as, for example, mountain climbing, hill climbing, cycling, baseball, cricket, American football and the like.
Protective clothing is available to reduce the seriousness of injuries to the torso caused by such accidents and falls. However, known protective clothing, in general comprises jackets worn on the torso which may or may not be provided with sleeves. These jackets suffer from a number of disadvantages. In particular, known jackets which give reasonably adequate protection against accident and injury, in general, are cumbersome and considerably restrain the movement of the individual wearing them. On the other hand, jackets which give a degree of relatively free movement to the individual tend not to offer adequate protection against accidents and injury.
One typical example of the latter type of jacket is provided by the garment disclosed in U.S. Pat. Specification No. 3,945,042. This specification discloses a jacket in which resilient foamed plastic cylinders which act as impact absorbing members are provided in the garment. However, the impact absorbing members only extend over a short portion of the upper part and lower part of the back panel of the jacket. Thus, they only give limited protection to the spine of the wearer.
U.S. Pat. Specification No. 4,084,264 illustrates another type of protective garment, which in this case comprises a back panel which extends substantially over the length of the back of the wearer. A plurality of padded hoop type ribs extend around the jacket to absorb impacts, particularly from a baseball or the like. However, while this jacket does provide better protection than the jacket of U.S. Pat. Specification No. 3,945,042, it is considerably more cumbersome to use and wear. Because of the fact that the hoop type ribs extend over the length of the back of the wearer, the ability of the wearer to bend is restricted. Attempts to overcome this are made by cutting away portion of the front panels of the jacket, however, these provide available to the individual. Furthermore, by virtue of the fact that portions of the front panels are cut away, protection is reduced.
U.S. Pat. Specification No. 3,514,786 illustrates another type of protective garment. This U.S. Pat. specification discloses a garment having front and rear panels. Reinforcing pads are provided mounted in the panels, however, the panels only give limited protection to the individual, and do not adequately protect the spine of the individual. U.S. Pat. Specification No. 3,500,472 illustrates another type of protective garment which is provided by a panel which is strapped around the individual. A plurality of cushioning units are attached to the garment, each of which comprise a relatively rigid member covered with spongy material shaped to conform with the shape of the body. However, this garment essentially only protects the upper part of the back and consequently does not offer adequate protection to the spine.
There is therefore a need for a protective garment which overcomes the problems of known garments.